Chase: Black Bear Outlaws #2 (Mating Fever)

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Chase: Black Bear Outlaws | (Mating Fever) | Book 2

Chapter 1 | Katrina

Chapter 2 | Chase

Chapter 3 | Katrina

Chapter 4 | Chase

Chapter 5 | Katrina

Chapter 6 | Chase

Chapter 7 | Katrina

Chapter 8 | Chase

Chapter 9 | Katrina | One Year Later

Meet the Rest of the Mating Fever Clans:

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he’s exactly what he’s looking for... 

Chase Doucet knows what he wants. He’s a man who lives his life on the edge, and as far as he can see, so does Katrina Craig. One way or another, he’s determined to have her. 

He’s her match in every way but one... 

Katrina Craig is finally free and has found the mate she’s been looking for. But when life throws her a curve ball, suddenly she’s got a secret that could ruin everything.

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B
ook 1: Cyrus: Black Bear Outlaws

Book 3: Cole: Black Bear Outlaws

W
as there anything worse than being at the Bearly Enchanted clan ball by oneself? Absolutely.  If I had to watch one more couple declare themselves mated, I was going to scream. This was not the event for a woman whose marriage exploded a mere three weeks ago.

I grabbed my small clutch handbag, stood on stiletto heels, and hastily made my exit, not bothering to say goodnight to anyone. They’d never notice anyway. I was the new girl in town, fresh from a failed marriage.

On second thought, they probably would notice, but only because they’d want to know if I’d left with someone.

Hardly.

The only person I was interested in seeing had left two hours ago after a brief hello and a slightly awkward exchange.

Chase Doucet was everything my soon to be ex-husband wasn’t: responsible, honest, patient, and courageous, just to name a few. There were also the added bonuses of being gainfully employed and so sexy it should’ve been a sin. His tall, muscular build, dark hair, whiskey colored eyes, and perpetual five o’clock shadow were more than enough to turn an innocent into a sinner.

Not that I was innocent. Not by any means. Everything about him made my lady parts pulse.

Christ. I needed to snap out of it. Or I was going to combust right there in the town hall.

The cool air of the spring night washed over me as I walked across the parking lot toward my blue Mustang convertible. It was the only thing I’d taken besides a bag full of clothes when I’d left three weeks ago. It’d been the only thing I’d wanted.

Ty, my ex, was in jail now for possession, assault, and intent to sell. And as far as I was concerned, he could rot there. I’d made a clean break and was ready to live my life my way. On my own. Free to do anything...or anyone I wanted.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted my car and the man leaning against the side.

“Chase?” I peered at him. “I thought you left hours ago.”

He shrugged and cast his gaze down my body, pausing briefly on my exposed cleavage. “I did. But I forgot something.”

I raised one eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

His lips curved into a wicked half smile. “You.” Then he pushed off the side of the car and moved in close. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he leaned down and brought his lips to mine, stopping just before they touched. “I’ve been dying to feel your lips on mine.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh? Since when?”

“Since the first day I met you at Melinda Greyson’s house. Your fierceness, your quiet inner strength, and those deep blue eyes of yours do something to me.”

My insides melted. No one had ever spoken to me that way before. Not even my shitty husband before he’d turned into a giant douche. “Then why did you leave?” I gestured to the hall behind me.

“Because, Kitty, you’ve barely left your husband and the things I want to do to you...”

I fisted his shirt and pulled him closer so our lips were barely touching. “You should know that as far as I’m concerned, my marriage has been over for a year. It just took me that long to finally break free. So if you’re waiting for me to—”

He covered my mouth with his, cutting off my final words. And I sank into him completely, letting myself get lost in his woodsy scent and hard, muscular body. Strong arms held me close, his fingers inching up my neck and into my hair.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered and caught my bottom lip between his teeth for one scintillating moment.

I closed my eyes and ran my hands up his chest, memorizing every contour of his body. “Take me somewhere. Anywhere,” I ordered.

“Are you sure?” His voice was low and gravelly between the kisses he brushed over my rapidly beating pulse.

“More than sure.” I planted my palm against his chest and pushed slightly.

“You don’t have to ask twice.” He produced a set of car keys, grabbed my hand, and tugged me the few feet to the truck parked beside my Mustang. “Your place or mine?”

I bit my bottom lip. My place was bare bones, with just a mattress on the floor. I’d only just moved in last week and hadn’t gotten around to doing any serious decorating yet. And half my wardrobe was strung out all over the floor from trying to find something to wear. Maybe not my place. “Yours. What about my car?”

“We’ll come back for it after I take you to breakfast.”

Butterflies took up residence in my belly. Breakfast. All night with the hottest guy I’d ever laid eyes on. Holy hell.

“Is that all right?”

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and climbed into his truck.

He gently shut the door, carefully making sure I was all the way in and then jogged to the driver’s side. Once in, he fired up the truck, backed out, and then placed his hand over mine. His fingers gently stroked my palm, a sharp contrast to the speed at which he barreled down the street as he broke several traffic laws.

And I couldn’t care less. His touch was lighting a fire within me I was certain I hadn’t ever experienced before. Everything heated and tingled and ached to be touched.

“Chase?” I said, breathlessly.

“Yes, Kitty?” He lifted my hand and kissed the center of my palm.

A small moan escaped from the back of my throat as his tongue darted out, tracing my middle finger. “Holy hell.”

He chuckled and placed my hand in his lap, slipping his fingers between mine. “That’s just a small taste of what’s to come.”

My girl parts cheered, and if he hadn’t been driving, I’d have climbed on top of him right then and there. I sat back, cracked the window for the cool air, and concentrated on breathing. He’d barely touched me, and I was ready to throw my panties at him.

The image of him removing the red lacy thong with his teeth nearly made me come undone. Swallowing a groan, I shifted in my seat and clenched my thighs together.

He glanced over at me. “Something wrong?”

I shook my head and crossed one knee over the other. “Nope. Nothing at all.”

Sitting at a red light, he studied me. Then just when I thought he was going to drop it, he lifted my hand and pressed his lips to the accelerated pulse in my wrist. A second later, he bit down lightly and pulled another low torturous moan from me.

“Ah,” he said, smiling with an air of satisfaction. “Just a few more blocks, then we can get down to business.”

“You’re awfully confident,” I said, trying and failing to get control of myself.

“And you’re sexy as hell.” He made a right turn onto a quaint, tree-lined street. “Just wait until I get my lips on the rest of your body.”

A quiver rippled through me, and I tightened my grip on the door handle. What had I gotten myself into?

All too soon, Chase pulled the truck into a driveway attached to a small cottage. Two hanging lights illumined the wrap-around porch and wooden bench along with a variety of potted plants. “This is where you live?”

“Sure.” He squinted at his house. “You were expecting something different?”

“No, I...” Shaking my head, I chuckled. “It’s just so homey and domestic looking. Most bachelors don’t have hibiscus plants on their porch.”

He smiled, killed the engine, and then hopped out. I already had my door open by the time he made it to my side. He held his hand out to me and helped me down.

“Thanks,” I said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and slammed the truck door closed.

“You’re welcome.” Guiding me toward the house, he waved a hand at the yard. “My neighbor owns a nursery. She can’t help herself. Seems like every other weekend she’s out here doing something with the yard or plants.”

“She?” A ball of jealousy came out of nowhere and slammed into my gut.

He paused for a moment and glanced at me, his lips twitching. “She’s sixty-two.”

“Oh.” Heat flushed my cheeks. “Right.”

Chuckling, he unlocked the door, flicked the entry light on, and tugged me inside.

A tiny sigh of relief escaped my lips. His place was exactly what I’d expect from a bachelor; black leather couch, matching recliner, and a giant screen TV. An empty beer bottle was on the end table along with three remotes. The walls were bare and the windows covered with basic white blinds. There wasn’t a woman’s touch anywhere. That was a relief, but I was far from settled.

“So,” I said nervously. “Now that you have me here...”

He leaned against the closed door and studied me. Those whiskey eyes of his roamed down my body, taking me in as if he was memorizing every detail of my curvy frame.

I cleared my throat.

He blinked and raised his gaze to mine. “How about a drink?”

“Oh, okay. Yeah.” I followed him into the next room, a stark white kitchen. A stack of files, a legal pad, and a laptop filled the small four-person table, while half a dozen coffee mugs sat in his sink. “Not much for cooking?”

He followed my gaze. “Not really. It’s no fun to cook for one.”

Wasn’t that the truth? Since my husband had spent most of his evenings either at the gym or with his buddies at the bar, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d bothered to make anything more complicated than a turkey sandwich. “I can relate.”

He pulled two wine glasses from his cabinet. “Red or white?”

“Red,” I said automatically and immediately had the urge to lick a trail of wine droplets off his chest.

With deft hands, he freed the bottle of the cork and set the wine on the counter as he turned to me. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, we’re not even going to make it to the bedroom.”

His gravelly tone sent sparks of sheer desire to all the right places. I averted my gaze, too afraid of what he might see there. “Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Kitty.” He moved, trapping me between his large body and the counter. “You never have to apologize for wanting me. Because you’re damn sure not getting an apology from me.”

Before I could respond, he kissed me, his tongue licking my lips apart until I opened to him. He tasted of coffee and a hint of chocolate.

Delicious.

A spark of something indefinable tingled inside of me and spread like an electric current through my limbs. My nerves came alive, and Chase’s touch was like nirvana to my senses. My eyes closed, and I tilted my head back, moaning as he ran his fingers over my collar bone.

“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed, burying his face into my neck, “and fucking intoxicating.”

Unable to keep my hands off him, I slipped them under his shirt and flattened my palms against his rock hard abs. It was all I could do to not tear his clothes off right then and there in his kitchen. “I want to see you,” I whispered, unable to hide the lust in my voice. “All of you.”

His hands tightened on my hips, but he pulled back slightly and met my gaze with a heated one of his own.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I said, trying and failing to pull him back in for more breathless kissing.

“Get used to it, Kitty. Because the way you look right now, flushed with swollen lips and passion swimming in your eyes, it’s enough to drive a man insane.”

“A man?” I asked and inched my fingers up his chest.

“This man.” He let go of my hips and slowly pulled on the sash holding my dress together.

I glanced down at my now exposed chest. “I said I wanted to see
you
.”